A special surgical outpatient clinic enabled 162 outpatients to receive a consultation at Queen's Hospital.

Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust launched the clinic to try and reduce waiting times caused by the pandemic.

The patients seen to on Saturday May 15 had various symptoms including haemorrhoids, bleeding from the bottom, and pilonidal sinuses.

Haemorrhoid patients received injections and banding with follow-up appointments arranged. Other patients were either discharged back to their GP or put onto waiting lists for an operation.

Five consultants and five registrars worked on the day and were able to see everyone. This has helped reduce the backlog, with only two patients not attending.

Consultant surgeon Veeranna Shatkar and speciality manager for general surgery, vascular and breast, Patricia Murphy, led the clinic.

Ms Murphy said: "One of our patients was a 103-year-old woman. Her son, who came to the appointment with her, told me he was impressed with how efficiently we operated the day from the moment they entered our hospital to his mother’s appointment.

"This project wouldn’t have been such a success without the hard work of the staff involved, including the consultant surgeons, the nursing team, the admin team, and our wonderful volunteers."

Two further clinics have now been planned for June.

Jacqui Czarnocki, outpatient transformation programme lead, said: “This initiative is a good example of us focusing on our patients and ensuring we used our capacity to see patients effectively.

“Reducing backlogs of outpatient appointments is a vital part of our recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic and projects such as this clinic play a big role."